Joe McEachern’s dad was part of a crew that helped save American lives and that bombed a German submarine in World War II. McEachern, of Marshfield, didn’t know any of this until after his father, Joe Sr., died of a heart attack in 1988.

Joe McEachern’s dad was part of a crew that helped save American lives and that bombed a German submarine in World War II. McEachern didn’t know any of this until after his father, Joe Sr., died of a heart attack in 1988.

Shortly after his dad’s death, McEachern found a bag full of his father’s belongings, including a letter from the captain of the SS Pan Pennsylvania. The letter thanked the crew of the Navy destroyer USS Joyce, which included Joe Sr., which saved 31 crew members from the sinking Pan Pennsylvania after it was torpedoed by a German submarine.

Twenty-five crew members on the Pennsylvania died.

“I’d like to have a conversation with him now that I know all of this,” McEachern, 54, said. “It breaks my heart.”

McEachern described his father as a quiet and composed man who rarely talked about his military background. Now knowing that Joe Sr. was only 19 when he was exposed to war, McEachern says he better understands why his father was so stoic.

In April 1944, the USS Joyce attacked and sank the German sub after it hit the Pennsylvania. The Coast Guard crew rescued 13 survivors from the German vessel in addition to the 31 Americans they saved.

McEachern grew up in Quincy, where his father and three uncles served on the city’s fire and police departments. Joe Sr. was a deputy fire chief in Quincy, Bill a fire lieutenant, George a fire captain and Angus a police officer.

The elder McEacherns have all died, but Joe McEachern pays tribute to their public service – in the military and in Quincy – with a wall full of black-and-white photos. McEachern and his wife, Dede, recently started hanging these mementos in a second-floor room inside their Marshfield home.

The photos hang above a homemade bar.

“It’s not a ‘man cave.’ A ‘man cave’ is all sports memorabilia,” McEachern said of the room. “This is not sports; this is a family room where you can have history. I’m sick of seeing these pictures (only) at funerals and wakes.”